French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has announced she will seek the top job at the International Monetary Fund.

Many European countries, including Germany and Britain, have offered their backing to a candidacy by Lagarde to run the IMF, which provides billions in loans to shore up the world economy.

Lagarde had been silent about her intentions until Wednesday, when she announced at a press conference that she wants the job.

The IMF's last managing director, Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit last week after he was accused of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PARIS (AP) _ France's sharp and respected finance minister, Christine Lagarde, will speak out amid mounting support for her expected bid for the top job at the International Monetary Fund.

Lagarde has so far not said whether she wants the job. She is giving a news conference Wednesday, but her office will not say what it is about.

Many European countries, including Germany and Britain, have offered their backing to a candidacy by Lagarde to run the IMF, which provides billions in loans to shore up the world economy.

The IMF has traditionally been run by a European, while the World Bank has been run by an American. But representatives of major developing nations on the IMF's board issued a joint statement on Tuesday urging the lending agency to abandon that practice.

The IMF's last managing director, Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, quit last week after he was accused of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid.

Lagarde has emerged as the European front-runner in part on her reputation for her deftness at international negotiations to stabilize the world economy during the world financial crisis. She also was seen as instrumental in getting the IMF and European Union to agree on rescue plans for Greece, Ireland and Portugal when their debt crises threatened the entire shared euro currency.

The 55-year-old spent much of her career in the United States, where she headed the law firm Baker & McKenzie in Chicago. With excellent English, a direct manner and relatively pristine image, she is seen as a good candidate to quickly step into Strauss-Kahn's shoes and manage Europe's continuing debt difficulties.

But potential legal troubles at home have clouded her potential candidacy, and some French critics say she would be a bad choice.

Questions have surfaced about Lagarde's role in getting arbitration in 2008 for French businessman Bernard Tapie, who won euro285 million ($449 million) as compensation for the mishandling of sale of sportswear maker Adidas. Lagarde was finance minister at the time of the decision. A decision is expected June 10 on whether to open an investigation, according to French media reports.

The decision on the next IMF leader is expected by the end of June. It will be made by the agency's 24-member executive board, whose officials represent the 187 IMF member countries.

The executive directors representing Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa said in a joint statement that they wanted to see the election of the next IMF chief be "truly transparent" and merit-based.

"We feel it is outrageous to have the post reserved for a European," said Nogueira Batista, IMF executive director from Brazil and one of the signers of the joint statement.

But emerging economies have yet to rally around a single candidate, even as Europe has rallied around Lagarde.

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AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report from Washington.